Our Solemn Hour
by lostinhersong
Summary: When all of the world went dark, there was a glimmer of light. And with that light, a faint glimpse of hope for the future.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING (except the original characters, plot, some string, and my two cats).

His black eyes glinted as he looked to the two that kneeled before him. A smirk graced his lips and he stood up, the red cloak he wore cascading around his shoulders. His black hair speckled with gray, fine wrinkles appearing by his eyes and mouth. He was around 45, and his body was hidden behind the black cloth of his typical wardrobe.

The two that knelt before him wore black on black, as part of their "uniform". Boots that were tattered and torn from their many travels, combat-styled pants that looked to have been made before the war, and a shirt that was sleeveless was worn under a bulletproof vest. A long, black, leather jacket hung to their knees, buckles on the sleeves and waist.

"Find the girl and end her life," his voice was authoritative as he spoke to them, the sight of his knights being set on a trail making his heart sing.

"Yes, father," they spoke in unison, their eyes never leaving their father as he began to pace. He turned, meeting each of their gazes in turn before speaking once again. He chuckled to himself at their attentiveness.

"The first to accomplish this will be my heir. Make me proud, my children, now go. Your horses await you in the stable," he turned from them both to show that the conversation was over before making his way from the room. The siblings turned to each other.

"Don't even bother leaving, sister. I'll find the girl before you even leave the stables," the young man said, smirking broadly in his confidence. His sister rolled her eyes, completely irritated by her brothers competitiveness.

"Please don't be so cocky, brother. There is no way in hell you could ever hope of beating me with your tracking abilities. You'll still be looking for that girl thirteen years from now."

"That throne will be mine. I won't let some runt like you have it." His face contorted with anger then, spit flying as he snarled the words. It made the younger woman chuckle at having ruffled his feathers.

"So testy. As always." The smirk of victory was in her voice, the love for pressing the older man's buttons evident. Despite how much she despised him at times, he was still family. Her brother and her father. That's all she had.

"Whatever. You'll be my knight when I'm wearing the crown, and that day will be soon" he turned on his heel, storming from the room without a backwards glance. The woman let out another chuckle as he left; a throat being cleared forced her to turn back around, her father standing before her once more.

"Do you ever grow tired of teasing him?" It was a simple question with an all too simple answer.

"Never."

"Of course not. Friendly competition helps you become stronger and much more effective hunters," he stated with a proud smile. She placed her fist above her navel in a salute.

"Of course, father. I should be on my way," she made to leave, her body barely beginning to turn before he held up a hand to halt her progress.

"You'll find her first," it wasn't a statement, but an affirmation. The woman lifted her eyes to meet those of the man before her.

"How can you be so sure of something of such dire importance?"

"Because, of the two of you, you are the best. The most cunning, the one that is most skilled in all that you do. Between you and your brother, you are the better evolved one." He stuck out his chin at the end of his speak, very proud of his creation. She saluted him once more.

"Thank you, father, for your compliments." Her voice was quiet in comparison to his own booming, prideful one.

"You will make a grand queen once I pass. The kingdom shall rejoice."

"Perhaps such would be the case if I were to actually be made your heir, father, however, I can sense that you have plans beyond two knights taking over your kingdom. You do not need to bribe me with false promises. I will find the heir of the Pegasus Clan, and I shall destroy her."

"You are far too perceptive," he muttered, eyeing her through his black bangs. She stood up straighter.

"You designed me this way, father. Now, please," she turned on her heel and walked from the room, her coat flapping behind her. The maids her father had bought from the slave traders over the years moved from her path, bowing to her. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling above, and stepped out into the blinding sun. Her eyes squinted immediately to avoid the unhindered ultraviolet light that beat down on the land. Within a second, however, her eyes had adjusted, and she continued her walk through the courtyard.

"Took you long enough to get out here, slow poke. Going to have to move faster if you want to find that little wench first," a confident voice filled her ears, followed by the sound of galloping hooves as her brother tore from the stable. The woman watched him go, his horse being white with a black mane and tail, designed specifically for him. She turned, her own horse standing in his stall patiently, knowing that a mission had been gifted to them. He pawed at the ground, suddenly anxious over the thrill of a new hunt, a new run.

"Ventus, calm down! We'll leave soon enough, no need to become impatient just because our brothers have left," she patted the white mares neck, moving to grab the dark brown saddle that sat on a rack at the other end of the stable. It took her barely five minutes to tack up her horse, and slide onto her back. "Now, let's go find us a trail."

-0-

"Father, please!" She whined, holding up the small rusty pail she had designated as the berry bucket. The older man sighed, and glanced back towards the room his wife fitfully slept.

"Be back soon. And don't stray past the rock line, please?" His voice was that of a broken man. One that had ran to the edges of the earth to end his families suffering, only to cause them more. A small smile made his slender face crinkle with unparalleled joy as his daughter wrapped her slender arms around his neck. She squeezed him tightly, kissed his cheek, and slid away, turning to jog towards the mouth of the cave.

"Be back before dark, Michiru!" Her father's voice rang around her as the youngest daughter of the final Kaiou heir ran for the harmful sunlight. She turned the bend, seeing the light at the entrance to the cave that they had made their home. She slowed to a walk then, glancing behind her to make certain he had not changed his mind, which he so often did. She was never told why she was to stay inside other than the usual concerns: the acid rain, the radioactive sea, and the deadly ultraviolet light from the burning sun above them. Yet, he went out into such dangers almost daily in his scavenge for food and fresh water, yet she was not allowed. Ever. Once, when she was twelve, she snuck out of the cave and ran joyously along the coast line. She wasn't allowed from the damp cave again for almost two years afterwards. Now, being almost seventeen years old, she smiled widely as she stepped into the sunlight, allowing her pale skin to drink in the suns warmth, which began to almost instantly burn. Michiru pulled up the hood of the cloak she wore to cover her long aqua curls, and started off along the beach.

She was thin for her age, but most people were in such an environment. Her face, however, would have been the envy of every girl she came into contact with had she been allowed to venture into the towns that her father visited. Her small feet were covered in a pair of rubber shoes her father had bought for her.

Finding the seaside berry bushes was simple. They grew in patches along the beach, near the edge of the tide. Michiru looked out over the waves which seemed to grow with each passing moment. She smiled as she watched them before turning back to head for the cave, her rusty bucket overflowing with the small purple berries she had picked in preparation of her mothers surprise. Her throat was dry, and had gone unnoticed until she began to steadily walk up from the slender strip of sand. She could see the cave in the distance, but the land was flat, giving her a false sense of distance. The youngest Kaiou had wandered off nearly a mile and a half from her home, and it suddenly occurred to her. The landscape began, then, to change drastically. The once soft sand became bitter rocks whose entire purpose was to inflict pain on the people who attempted to traverse through them. The gently rolling hills were replaced by steep cliff that loomed overhead menacingly. Michiru took a deep breath, suddenly unsure of which way she was to head to make it home, her head swimming from the suns heat. She chose the wrong way in her confused state, and began pick her way through the dangerous rocks that closely resembled daggers, the sun continuing to beat down on her mercilessly. She found her way to the opposite end of the seemingly endless rock garden before collapsing, her small pail rolling down the slight slope and into the bright green water.

"Come on you stupid cow! Move it!" He slapped the mutated heifer on the ass, attempting to get her to move faster up the small slope towards the market. She lifted both of her heads to bay as she sped up, pulling a wagon filled with goods. "Good girl. Good girl…woah!" He yanked the leather reins he held in his hands as his eyes found the lifeless lump on the beach. He smiled widely at her porcelain features and startling hair, an idea forming in his mind.

_A/N: Hello there! Yes, I am back. With another story to boot! I know…I know. I have a shit ton awaiting to be finished, but have no fear! There are soon to be finished as well. I started my new job (queue cheering) and will update one the inspiration strikes me. Well, I hope you enjoyed this. All confusion will be cleared up in later chapters. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Michiru and Haruka's characters. I do, however, own the plot, the vile villians, and the belief that the world is going to end next year. :)**

He watched as the blonde exited the castle before turning and sweeping his way back towards the throne room. His black eyes glinted as passing servants bowed to him. Tate, king of the Current Land, glanced over his shoulder before pressing a button on the silver throne he usually occupied. The button was hidden within the intricate detailing of the otherwise basic chair. A small door sprung out of the white marble behind him and he stepped into it, the door invisible against the wall once again as soon as he closed it. Inside this secret door was a medium sized room, the far wall covered by a huge map of the Current Land. Large black X's were marked all across it with only a few areas that were not crossed off. He picked up a large black marker and moved to the map, making another black x in the lower sector beside another. Tate shook his head as he tossed the marker back onto the table beside a folder his daughter had given him a few days ago, a picture of an older man with aqua hair paper-clipped to the front of the manilla folder.

"Where are you, girl? WHERE ARE YOU!" Spit flew from his mouth as he picked up one of the large wooden chairs and threw it against the wall that held the map, causing it to smash. His chest rose and fell violently as he stared at the slightly ripped map, the chair in pieces at the base of the wall. His eyes were narrowed at the map in annoyance, and he turned away from it, pressing a second button beside the door and exiting, still seething.

"Those two better find you this time, or I will punish them both...severely"

-0-

He watched her from a few ridges away, her black horse moving effortlessly across the sand dunes. He chuckled, his plan ingenious. He knew for a fact that he was not the best tracker, not in comparison to his sister, but as a killer her excelled whereas his sister lacked the skills he had. He clucked at his horse, moving his horse across the ridge he was on towards the west, keeping the black horse in his sight.

"I told you I would be the King. Even if that means I follow your trail until you find the girl and kill you and her both. Then, both of you will be out of my hair for good. " He cackled, kicking his horse into a gallop.

-0-

He flicked the reins to his cow, the old animal slowly walking towards the lights ahead, the night market surging with people. He brought his wagon to a stop as he came to his stall. It took him nearly a half an hour to unload his wares, which included several weapons, explosives, and the aqua haired girl he found near the shore line. The girl groaned inaudibly as she raised her head, her eyes beginning to flutter open. He jabbed a small needle into her leg, injecting her with morphine to force her back to sleep.

"Get some sleep, pretty girl. Many men don't like their toys to talk when they are looking," he spoke with a small lisp, most of his teeth missing. He was short and rotund, a great mirror resting at the back of his largish head with a halo of deep red hair partnered with gray. He turned his dark eyes towards the crowd, which seemed to inch around his stand except for a few brave souls who looked a tad worse for wear. One of them, a large burly man in a black leather jacket and ratty blue jeans stopped, moving to touch Michiru's face. A stern slap from the balding salesman stopped him, causing him to jerk his hand back.

"Listen, bub. You want to even think of touchin' 'er, Imma hafta see some cashola," he grinned at the burly man, holding a sawed off shotgun under his trench coat, aiming at the man. The man gruffly growled something about not wanting to touch her anyhow and moved on. The salesman rolled his eyes and set the sawed off shotgun on a table, and kicked back in a rickety wooden chair, his feet on the table. Several other men stopped, each reaching out to stroke the unconscious woman's face before the crooked man ended their idea with a threat of death and a demand for money upfront. When the young woman began to twitch as if about to awaken, he quickly stabbed her with the morphine shot, sending her right back into her deep sleep.

Several of his guns sold had throughout the course of the night and into the next day, giving him a small stack of grubby bills from before the War. He was counting it tediously when a shadow interrupted his work, causing him to look up. His eyes narrowed as the figure caused the sun to shine around it's body, blinding him despite its interference.

"What are you doing, Jaga?" Came the gruff question, sending the man's skin crawling.

"N-nothing. Selling a few wares, trying to make a small penny. You know how it is." He gave an innocent grin, his horrible lisp and dialect gone as easy as they had come. That was his gift with the general public. He could speak like them, think like them, all of them but the person in front of him. The one with the unreadable eyes.

"You were given specific instructions, were you not?" Another gruff question, the voice like ice which gave the man no room to lie even if he wanted to attempt it.

"Yes."

"Why were those instructions ignored?"

"W-well, you see..." He stammered, licking his lips in nervousness, a hand reaching up to rub the patch of flesh at the back of his skull.

"I am not here for excuses. Do you realize I have been traveling for days in search of her? Then I come to find that you had found her and neglected to inform me of it. Wow, and to think we had a deal." The lilt in the voice suggested a vile grin had spread on the speakers features. Jaga gulped, his adam's apple bobbing.

"We do! We do have a deal! I...I just..."

"Always thinking of your wallet before your obligations. Typical of you. Do not forget what scum pond I plucked you from."

"I haven't forgotten! Please! I messed up. Oh boy did I mess up." He tried a new tactic. If reasoning wouldn't work, then perhaps begging would. Who didn't love their ego stroked?

"Yes you did. You messed up bad. Now. Since you were going to sell the girl to the highest bidder..." the figure moved from blocking the sun, and he closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the aqua-haired beauty and the owner of his very soul had vanished. On the table, between a frag grenade and a missile launcher was a piece of folded up paper. Jaga swallowed nervously once again before taking the piece of paper and unfolding it, reading the eerily perfect letters.

"Consider your debt repaid. -H"

_A/N: Sorry for the delay in this. Working 6 days a week really drains you after a while. As does finding out your not allowed to put your girlfriend on your insurance because you don't have a penis. _ Days like this I really detest America. I hope everyone is having a better day than myself, and I hope that you enjoy the chapter!_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I still only own the original characters and the plot itself. The lovely characters of Haruka and Michiru do not belong to me, nor they never will (so sad. really.).**

_"Consider your debt repaid. -H"_

Jaga let out a breath before slumping into the chair that the girl with the odd colored hair had occupied until five seconds before. How could he have been so stupid? Thinking he could seriously get away with the sale of the one his savior had given him to find. Stupid, indeed. He stood up to place a tarp over his table as the market crowed had died away as the sun was at its highest in the sky. After he had watered and fed his dual-headed cow, he walked back to the tent he had constructed by tying a tarp to his wagon, creating a lean-to of sorts. He laid down against the pillow he propped against the wheel, and fell asleep, falling into a dream.

_He ran, his legs propelling him forward as fast as they could, his jacket flapping in the breeze. He could hear them gaining, the kings men, and he diverted from his originally intended path, running into the petrified wood that rested to his left. He felt his legs buckle from under him, felt gravity snatch a hold of him, and felt his body begin to rotate as he fell, rolling down the hill. He landed in a pile of brush, his face scratched as he laid there, silent, listening for the men who were following him. He glanced up from looking at the dirt, seeing a horse stop right in front of his forced hiding spot. His breathing slowed, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he was sure it would tip the rider off. He groaned inwardly as a pair of legs clad all in black slid from the horse, the boots causing the white twigs to crackle under foot._

_ "Kawano Jaga?" The voice was that of a female, cold and void of true emotion. She took another step, another twig cracking, a bird cawing in the distance. Another step, another crunch. "Come on, Jaga. I know you're in there. You hit the ground pretty hard when you tripped." Yet another crunch resounded when her foot came into contact with the earth. Jaga's heart was threatening to pound right out of his chest, his breathing was very erratic, his eyes watching the boots with a purpose. Suddenly, an arm reached out to grab his shirt, hauling him out of the brush. He hissed as the thorns dug, once again, at his arms and face, snagging in his skin as well as his clothes. He came face to face with the woman who was speaking, a blonde with unreadable gray eyes. He noticed how if it hadn't been for the hint of woman in her voice, he would have mistook her for a man. He then noticed his feet were not touching the ground, but that he was being suspended in the air by the woman, who was holding him with one arm. His eyes widened with fear for the first time._

_ "I'm innocent, I swear! I was set up!" He hung there without moving, no effort on his part to even try and be let go. The woman set him down gently._

_ "I know. Why do you think I didn't kill you on sight. I knew you had been framed. You are lucky, however, that I found you instead of Kyo. He doesn't see guilty or innocent, he only sees the chase. I see the truth. That is what balances us, you see." She watched him closely, the man nodding. She took in his figure, the man being older than she with a bald spot, and the beginning of a gut. _

_ "Will the king believe you of my innocence?"_

_ "I'm sure I can convince him, however...I will need a favor or two from you." She gave him a charming smirk that never managed to make it to her eyes. _

_ "I will be forever in your debt, my lady. Anything you need, I will be more than willing to help." He nodded as he spoke, his voice a bit shaky. _

_ "I need you to help me find someone in your travels. A girl with hair like no other." She watched him, gauging his reaction._

_ "The Kaiou girl?"_

_ "Who else would I seek so diligently. If you find her, you get word to me. Immediately. Understood?" Gray eyes met black, and the man before her nodded._

_ "I will. And..."_

_ "The bounty on your head will be removed, and you have my pardon." She handed him a bit of paper with her signature at the bottom. "This will grant you safe passage from now on. As long as you retain your end of the bargain, I will retain my own." Again, Jaga nodded, looking at the slip of paper allowing him to end his running. He looked up again, the woman gone._

_ "Thank you...my lady."_

"Kawano Jaga?" A gruff voice came from outside of his tent, the elder man opening his eyes with a groan.

"Who is it?"

"I need information from you, please." The voice that spoke was a man's, with the same icy and emotionless tone as Haruka's. He stood and slid out of the make-shift tent, coming face to face with a man wearing the same uniform as Haruka's. His eyes were the color of the richest soil from before the war, and his hair was a deep honey color, much different from his sisters. Jaga swallowed as he looked to him, the man having more attributes of a cold blooded killer than his sister ever could. The merchant could see, then, what Haruka had spoken of those years before when she spoke of their balance.

"Information?" Jaga questioned quietly, watching the man with caution. Kyo paced around him, causing the balding man to breath hard with fear.

"I know you, Kawano Jaga. The man who my sister begged my father to spare. How touching. I also know you work for her in repayment. Tell me then, did you find the girl?"

"I answer to no one but Haruka, sir." His voice came out shaky, the fear evident in his eyes. Kyo let out a laugh, his hand wrapping its way around Jaga's throat, jerking him upwards. The man began to kick, his face slowly beginning to turn blue. He gagged, coughing.

"Going to talk to save your skin, merchant? Or do I have to take your life as an example of why not to cross me?" His lips were curled in a bloodthirsty smirk as he spoke. Jaga began to shake his head, causing Kyo to drop him, the man rolling into a ball at the black-clad mans feet. The merchant coughed, staggering to all fours.

"The girl...found her on beach...Brought her to sell...Gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" Came the clipped question. Jaga shrugged. Kyo made to grab him again, the older man stepping back.

"Haruka! I'm not sure where, I just know that Haruka has her."

"Of course she does. Thank you, Jaga. You've been most helpful." He gave a short bow to the man before grabbing him again, snapping his neck with a single grip of his hand. "And I owed you that from before." He turned, leaving the man to lie there awaiting someone to discover his body. Jaga's eyes were wide open, the light gone from them.

-0-

Haruka held the young girl around the waist, keeping her situated in front of her as they rode. She glanced over her shoulder occasionally to make sure she wasn't being followed. Michiru's head rolled to the side, still knocked out from the morphine injection Jaga had given her hours before. The sun was high in the sky, and the blonde frowned to notice how red Michiru's skin was getting from the exposure. She slid off her long jacket to wrap around the girls frail body, the sun beating down on her own light skin mercilessly, having no effect on her. She allowed her horse to pause at a small, barely running spring before pressing on.

-0-

_ "MAMA! MAMA! PLEASE!" The young girl cried, attempting to pull away from the grip of her older brother. The girls long blonde hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, her clothes appearing to be made from a grain sack that hung on her malnourished frame. Her brothers grip was tight on her waist, the two of them in a horse drawn buggy riding away from the small hut they had grown up in. She turned to bury her face into her brothers chest, the boy hugging her close._

_ "We'll get through this, I promise." His voice was comforting as he stroked her blonde hair. She sniffled, and his grip tightened on her shirt as he pulled her closer, rocking her back and forth. She looked up at him, her dirty face streaked with tears._

_ "Why'd she get rid of us? Were we bad?" _

_ "No, kid, she just has problems. We have each other, I promise. We'll always have each other. Nothing comes between us, right?"_

_ "Right. Like the three musketeers?" She looked at him with innocent eyes, sniffling again. He smiled, laughing softly._

_ "Yeah, sis. We're the two musketeers. All for one, and one for all."_

_ "Always, right?"_

_ "Always." He hugged her again, the buggy taking them over a hill and out of sight of the tiny hut._

Michiru groaned as she blinked awake, lying down with a large black coat covering her, a small yet cheery fire crackling by her feet. A figure moved silently around, allowing Michiru only the sound of footsteps, the shadow cloaking whomever it was.

"Who..."

"Get some rest. The morphine is wearing off, but you'll still feel groggy unless you sleep it completely off." The voice, Michiru reasoned, was a womans voice, yet it was cold and gruff. The aqua-haired girl shivered at it, goosebumps forming on her flesh.

"Where am I?"

"Don't worry about that just now. Get some rest." A hand reached out, pushing a lock of stray aqua hair behind Michiru's ear, then resting there for a moment, almost as if the tracker cared. She yanked her hand back, and situated herself by the fire, allowing Michiru a single glance at the owner of the voice before she fell back into dreamland.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Yeah...still own nothing. Except for Tate, Haruka's vile older brother, Jaga, and the basic plot. Bwhaha. Enjoy. **

_She looked up from the table she had been sitting at, her blood shot eyes finding her brothers. His hand reached across the table, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. They had both been shaved completely bald, wearing similar white jumpsuits with a number on the sleeve. They were in a large room, surrounded by seemingly hundreds of kids ranging from age five to age twelve, all of them without hair and dressed in white. There was the sound of soft crying from some, others sitting stone straight with no expression on their face. The little girl watched as a pair of men dressed in dark green scrubs walked forward, grabbing another little girl, causing her to scream as they hauled her into an adjacent room. The grip on her brothers hand tightened._

_ "It isn't so bad, sis. I promise. Just be brave, alright? For me?"_

_ "But I'm scared..." She glanced over, a different pair of orderlies walking towards her._

_ "We can't go through life being scared, right?" He squeezed her hand again, giving her smile. She nodded, fear in her eyes as she looked over again, the orderlies much closer. "I'll be here when you get back, I promise."_

_ "Don't leave me..." Her voice was a quiet squeak as the two burly men grabbed her, dragging her towards a different room._

_ "I won't! I'll be right here!" His voice faded behind the closing door, and the men threw her onto a stainless steel table. She grunted as the pain of being forced onto the hard metal table seeped through her muscles, another man wearing a white lab coat came forward, strapping her down. She let out a yelp, trying to move off of the table._

_ "Sit still, girl. This won't hurt a bit." The dark voice of the man in white filled her ears, an orderly handing him a needle filled with a bright green liquid. The girl began to squirm harder, her eyes wide with pure fear._

_ "Don't! No! NOOOOO!" She screamed as the man drove the needle deep into her belly, injecting the fluid into her. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell unconscious. _

_ "Another failure. Great." The man in the lab coat pulled off his gloves, throwing them away. An orderly moved, taking the girls pulse._

_ "No sir. She just fainted." The doctor turned, looking at the two orderly's and then to the girl._

_ "Take a blood sample. Her and her brother may have what it takes to make it out of this alive." He laughed as he walked from the room, a man waiting outside of it, having been watching through a window._

She was shook awake violently, her aqua hair matted with sweat. She was met with a pair of grey eyes, which were watching her with the smallest hint of concern. Michiru frowned as she sat up, staring at the woman before her. The blonde was knelt down by her side, her arms lightly muscled and a light tan. Sapphire eyes met grey, and the grey averted to the side.

"Who are you?" Michiru's soft voice forced Haruka from her thoughts, causing her to look at her once again.

"A nightmare." She stood up, going to her horse to saddle her up, the black hooves stamping the thirsty earth. Michiru stood up as well, frowning, and moved to her side, her legs shaky.

"I've had nightmares, and you don't look like anything from them." She stood a few inches shorter than the blonde, the large black coat about her shoulders. The sun inched its way past the high cliffs, almost to where they stood.

"Kaiou Michiru, you have no idea who or what I am. Just because I look like you, talk like you, and somewhat act like you does not give any reason why I am not something that has crawled out from the corner of your darkest dream," she turned to her, looking down at her. Michiru swallowed, feeling fear at the gaze she was being given.

"I...I'm sorry... Can you help me get home..." The question was filled with naivety and innocence. Her gaze fell from Haruka's stern one and to the ground, a single tear falling to the dusty ground.

"Do you know who you are? Do you know why I was sent to find you?" The tone of the elder woman's voice forced Michiru's gaze up again. The young beauty shook her head.

"Should I?" Haruka looked to the horizon when Michiru asked the question. The girl wasn't lying. She didn't have any idea who she was.

"I just assumed that you would... Why else would my father be so worried about it?" The muscle in her jaw twitched as she thought. With Michiru dead, her father would have no contestation for the throne. But if Michiru had no idea what power she could possibly have, what was the point in ending the young woman's life? She could live blissfully ignorant of her birth right, and remain alive. Haruka turned to Michiru, then back to the horizon, in the direction of her fathers home.

-0-

He slid from the back of his white stallion, walking towards the mouth of the cave. Kyo pulled the cloth that hung on the entrance aside, and moved into the home of the Kaiou family. The way back was dark, with only a small bit of firefly matter lighting the winding path. Water dripped down the walls, echoing throughout the darkness. The man frowned as he continued to walk down the path, inhaling deeply to smell the distinct odor of mold and death in the air. Another strip of cloth hung to his left, which Kyo walked towards. Inside, the sound of someone making tea could be heard, and the soft murmurs of whispering. The brown-haired man let out a chuckle as he ripped the cloth aside, coming face to face with a wide-eyed man. The man was older, with wrinkles on his face, and deep sapphire eyes. His dark blue hair was flecked with gray, his mustache and beard the same.

"What are you doing in my house?" His voice was hoarse with disuse, his eyes angry.

"You call this a house? A call it a poor excuse for a hideout, Kaiou." Kyo laughed as the man flinched at the use of his name.

"How do you know my name..." The anger was gone, replaced instead by fear, which was reflected deep within his eyes.

"Where is your wife?" The assassin smirked at the man's obvious pain, which flashed across his face before disappearing entirely.

"She passed away. A few days ago. What is it to you? Now, I ask again, sir, what are you doing in my home?" The bitterness and anger had returned, the elder Kaiou glaring at Kyo.

"Pity about your wife. I was looking forward to killing the next to last heir of the Shimizu reign. And after I find your daughter, my father will be most pleased at the fall of his rivals." A smirk was on his lips, a crazed look in his eyes. Akio frowned, and grabbed a knife he had by the small basin he called a sink, roaring as he moved to stab the intruder. Kyo parried his attack with a small dagger from his belt, and stepped away from him. Michiru's father attacked again, this time, the killer moved aside once again, his dagger slicing behind the older mans knee, causing him to fall. He clutched the back of his leg, which was bleeding profusely, crying in agony.

"You bastard! What does your king have against my family!"

"Everything." The word was a whisper as a gurgling sound was heard, Kyo's dagger shoved though Kaiou Akio's throat.

-0-

Haruka pulled the reins of her horse to a stop, Michiru riding behind her, her arms tight around her waist. Crows circled the mouth of the cave, and from the hill top they were on, the blonde could barely make out a head on a spike. She frowned, angry suddenly at her brother, and slid off the horse. She passed the reins to Michiru.

"Ride over to the other side of this cove, and stay put, okay?" She gave Michiru a steady gaze, flashing a reassuring smile. The girl nodded, looking towards the cave before turning, the horse guiding itself. The blonde watched Michiru until she knew she was out of harms way, and walked down towards the cave entrance. She frowned as she saw the head of Kaiou Akio displayed on the top of a sharpened piece of wood, his wife's head in the same manner. Their eyes were wide open, and Akio's mouth was slightly ajar. Haruka shook her head, moving to shut their eyes, and turned to walk away. She froze, Kyo in front of her.

"The girl, sister?" He was smiling the smile of one who knew they had won. Haruka gave him a smirk.

"Now, how fair would it be to give her to you when I did all the work?" She watched him carefully, her hand on the throwing knife at her belt.

"I see how it's going to be." He walked forward with purpose, and grabbed the blonde by her vest, shoving her against the stone that had been at her back. The woman hissed as a rock speared her side, blood sliding down her left hip. "WHERE IS SHE?"

"I don't have her, brother!"

"Liar! Jaga told me you took her!"

"Jaga was instructed to lead you away from me. He had never had the girl, it was a carefully planned diversion to get you off my tail!" She drew back, punching him in the nose, causing the man to stumble backwards a few steps. Haruka panted softly, her side aching. Kyo glared at her, wiping his bloody nose.

"Well, Jaga's ended. Does that cause you pain, Haruka?" He watched for any signs of weakness, and frowned when he saw none. He spit into the dust, blood mixed with his saliva. Haruka looked to it and then back to him, her eyes guarded.

"Why would such trivial information cause me pain, dear brother? He was a useful pawn, and nothing more to me."

"The girl, Haruka. Where is she then? You're the tracker. Where has she gone?"

"I know not. That's why I came here. To get even the slightest hint of a direction-"

"Liar."

"Name calling is beneath you. Have you given up then? Are you admitting that you can not effectively find your quarry without my aid?"

"Fuck you, Haruka. I'll find the girl. Without your help." He turned, his coat catching in the wind as he stalked away, then began to run up the sandy knoll.

Michiru looked up as Haruka walked to her. The blonde was limping slightly, her black vest blood soaked on her left side. The aqua-haired girls mouth fell into an "o" as she watched the tracker fall face first into the sand, unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing. No matter how many offers I make for Haruka and Michiru, I get laughed at. Such a sad thing.**

Michiru jumped from the black and white mare to run to the fallen woman. The horse followed her, just as concerned for her owner as Michiru was. The young woman bent down, checking the blonde for a pulse, and sighing in relief when she found one. She flipped her over with a grunt to get a good look at the hole in her vest, the blood causing the black fabric to become even darker. Michiru's eyes looked this way and that, finally landing on a large knife Haruka had tucked into her boot. Her hands slid around the hilt and she cut the fabric from around the wound carefully, her eyes widening to see the large, deep gash down her side. Michiru glanced up at the mare, who nudged her shoulder, almost as if saying to pay attention to her master. The last remaining Shimizu stood up and slid the grimy shirt she wore off to reveal a equally dirty breastband. Soon, her shirt was shredded and wrapped around Haruka's torso (clean side down, of course) tied off with a neat little bow. With a little aid from the rope she had found as well as Ventus, the blonde was pulled from the plain view of the beach and into a well concealed cave inside of the cove. Michiru glanced around, recognizing the tiny cave as the one her father would rush them to as a "drill"; which meant, of course, that strangers were coming towards their original cave. The girl quickly regained her bearings, and everything she had been taught in the art of First Aid by her mother flooded her mind. She grabbed a pot, filling it from a small spring towards the front of the cave, and set to preparing a fire in the fire pit towards the rear. The cave's rear wall had several small tunnels buried into the rock that the smoke disappeared into, the need for a chimney therefore dispersed.

Once the fire had been built and was crackling merrily, Michiru placed the small pot of water on it to boil throwing some kelp and a bit of squid ink in the mixture. When the smoke began to fade from gray to a rich gold, the girl pulled the water from the fire. She dipped a bit of cloth she had discovered towards the back of the cave, still white with newness. Michiru winced and took a sharp intake of breath as the water splashed her hands, but she drove away the feeling of pain, moving towards Haruka, her eyes filled with worry. Ventus nickered from the entrance of the cave, curious as well as worried.

She removed the bloody makeshift bandage that she had tied about the girls side, the wound already healing, though a bit of green was visible around the edges: an infection. Michiru frowned, confused, at how much the gash had healed, but shrugged off the questions beginning to burn her mind regarding the blonde. She dipped the cloth once again to reheat it, and pressed it against Haruka's side. The tracker jerked from the heat, her hands curling into fists. A thin line of sweat began to form on her forehead, both from her altered immune system battling the infection as well as the sudden heat that had been placed to her side. Michiru pulled the cloth away for a moment, the kelp and squid ink doing the wound justice, the green fading into a light pink. Michiru smiled, tying another piece of clean cloth around the wound, and moving to sit against the opposite wall, breathing in slowly, relieved.

Haruka blinked awake, the sound of water dripping steadily giving her a migraine. She laid there, still for a few moments, regaining what little she could remember before her body had shut down to give itself a chance to heal. Once she had remembered the argument with Kyo, and Michiru being alone, she jumped up quickly, the blanket she had been curled up under wrapped itself about her legs, which caused her to trip, falling face first into the damp earth of the cave. She cringed at her clumsiness, and stood up again, this time much more slowly, and wove the blanket away from her body before she moved. Her back when straight when she heard a giggle, and she turned, seeing Michiru at the mouth of the cave, a hand over her mouth as she laughed openly at the blonde's fall. Haruka's face burned scarlet then, and she turned away from the girl, folding the blanket slowly. She only turned back around once she was sure her face was not burning with embarrassment any longer, only to find that Michiru had stepped closer to her, her sapphire eyes trained downwards. The blonde's face turned red again as a hint of air hit her naked torso, the exact place Michiru was focusing on now. Haruka jumped back, and gripped the blanket to herself, and allowed her own gaze to focus on the girl for a moment, discovering that Michiru was only clad in her breastband and ratty old pants. Haruka's eyes drew the fine curves that the young woman had, her skin milky pale from all the years of hiding from the deadly UV rays of the sun. She swallowed as Michiru stepped forward, her fingers outstretched as if to rake them across her toned torso. The tracker clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the touch, all her bodies sensors on red alert. Though she didn't want to admit it, she wanted that touch. She wanted basic human contact. She wanted-

"Well, it's all healed. And in less than a full day, too. You, Miss Mystery, are a very interesting person." The sing-song voice of the young woman reached her ears, forcing her eyes to open. Haruka looked to where Michiru had her eyes focused, seeing a bloody bit of cloth had been removed, a white jagged scar on her side. She stepped out of Michiru's reach, and wandered out to the mouth of the cave. The sun was at it highest point in the sky, though she cared not. She stepped right into it, and whistled for Ventus. The blonde turned, seeing Michiru waiting in the shadow of the cave, her eyes widening with fear as she watched the blonde stand in direct sunlight without any problem.

"What?"

"You...what ARE you?"

-0-

"You've found nothing yet! What kind of hunter are you, anyhow?" The voice was a snarl, the sound of a vase smashing against the wall. Kyo ducked instinctively, standing again to face the King of the Current Land.

"I had a trail and I lost it. I wanted to know if I had your permission to beat the information needed out of someone." His voice was cold as usual, a few days worth of scruff on his face. His nose now had an odd angle to it from where it had healed wrong after his sisters punch.

"Which someone? And are you sure that they will have the information you seek."

"The someone isn't important, but yes. I know they know something. They have to."

"You have to tell me who it is. Also, is it just beating or will you accidently kill them as you have before..."

"Only if they do not give me the information I seek, my father." A smirk graced his lips. The perfect way to be done with Haruka forever. Tate turned to the young man, eyeing him.

"If you are certain that your sister has any information regarding the girl, why don't you just ask her?"

"I did. She refused to give me anything. I think she is turning soft. You allowed her to train for too long with that horse trainer, father."

"Yes, I know this now. Far too easily swayed by justice and fairness. Very well, you may do whatever it takes to get the information from her." He turned back towards his map, having allowed Kyo to see what lands were left in the search of the missing Shimizu heir. Kyo bowed, and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Kyo," Tate muttered, causing the young man to turn, bowing to his father once again.

"Yes, my king?"

"If you kill her, make it look like an accident. You know how the help is so fond of her," a grin flitted across his features, as well as a crazy glint in his eyes. Kyo smiled broadly and bowed again, walking from the war room. He went to the armory first, replacing his dirty uniform, which was also littered with holes, with a new one. This one, however, was different. It was the usual black on black, except that the coat had blood red stripes along the edges, the coat that he wore when it was killing time.

-0-

Michiru watched Haruka warily. They were both sitting inside of the cave eating a simple meal of fish jerky from the caves storeroom. The blonde ate quietly, polishing the black saddle she had taken from Ventus' back.

"Will you ever answer me?" Michiru's voice was cautious, almost fearful. Haruka's eyes snapped up, looking at Michiru.

"About?"

"Who you are..." She questioned. It was much more polite than the true question she had of what the woman was.

"You saved my life...why?"

"I...Hey! You can't answer my question by asking another question!" Michiru frowned, taking another bite of fish jerky. Haruka grinned.

"Why not?"

"Are you always so impossible?"

"One could say so, yes. It's part of my charm." Haruka smirked again, then began laughing quietly at Michiru's blush. "Haruka."

"Haruka?"

"That's who I am. Haruka." The blonde finished the chunk of jerky she had in her hand, noting how Michiru's eyes sparkled in the fire light. She shrugged off the thought.

"Well, Haruka...Can I ask another question?" Michiru blushed under Haruka's questing eyes, and she looked down to the tin cup of hot water she was sipping from.

"Does that mean I can't answer it if I choose?" The sound of a smile in her words. Michiru groaned inwardly.

"How can you stand in the sun without frying to a crisp?"

"And that is one question I will not answer." The playful tone was gone from the blonde's voice, replaced instead by the same unfeeling tone she had used up until Michiru had saved her. Michiru swallowed.

"I saved you because I sensed good in you. I didn't know your name, I don't know a thing about you, but I can feel that you are a good person. Inside." Michiru sipped her hot water again, glancing to the mouth of the cave where Ventus was laying down in the sun. Haruka looked at her.

"I'm not a good person. I am a killer. A nightmare." Michiru looked to the blonde with doubt in her eyes. She stood up, and moved to where Haruka was sitting. She arranged herself neatly on the blondes lap, Haruka's eyes widening. Her hand found the dagger in her seats boot, which she pulled out, and placed it in Haruka's hand. Michiru forced her hand up, dagger and all, and placed it to her throat.

"Then kill me. If you are such a killer, kill me." Michiru jerked her chin up, shoving the blade closer to her skin. Haruka jerked back, the blade's tip skimming Michirus throat, causing the younger girls eyes to widen. The blonde snarled, and moved forward. It was all in a flash, her moving. She gripped the back of Michirus arm, and forced her into the dirt, the blade at her throat. Haruka's eyes were wild, filled with the sudden lust for blood, her breathing ragged. Michiru weezed beneath her, her eyes holding Haruka's.

"Go on then..." Michiru's voice was soft. Haruka snarled, and tossed the blade to the side, the earth swallowing it. She pulled herself off of Michiru and ran out into the sun, sprinting down the beach. Michiru stood up, and walked to the mouth of the cave, watching her.

"What are you running from, my friend..."

_A/N: So sorry for the time between my updates. Had family over for the weekend, and I was on midnights last week (which about killed me...yeah...) I hope you enjoy this chapter. What is Haruka running from? Guess we'll see. :3_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Ha! Me? Own anything useful? You all have one hell of a sense of humor. ;) "Our Solemn Hour" is also not mine. The title comes from an amazing song by the band Within Temptation. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good rock song. **

"_I'm not sure I am following this plan, Tate." The man in the white coat shifted nervously, pushing a pair of horn-rimmed glasses up further on his nose. Another man, this one clad all in black with a single red stripe down the left side of his black cape, turned from the large map that he had tacked to the wall._

_ "I want to form an army stronger than any that had ever walked this earth before or during the time of the Current Land. I want my army to be feared." His eyes were alight with power and the idea of more of it handed to him. The man in the lab coat cleared his throat._

_ "Genetically altering them, then, sire?" His voice was nasally, the brown hair on his head graying substantially. "The process of elimination on which to inject them with could take years...decades! We would need test subjects and time..." He stammered slightly, not wanting to give such news to the man before him. Tate stroked his jet black goatee, frowning in thought._

_ "How could we speed up the process?"_

_ "Sp-speed up the process? I don't..."_

_ "I can handle a year. I want a perfected subject by the first of next year, am I understood?" The man glanced towards the window at the far end of the chamber, the sun having set a few moments before. A few strides allowed him to stand in the window, the shade being drawn to allow him a much better view of the land around his fortress._

_ "Y-yes sir...We are going to need a lot of subjects to begin testing..."_

_ "Children...Under the age of fourteen preferably."_

_ "But sir! Why so young...Wouldn't you prefer a stout boy of 21 protecting you?"_

_ "Sedgewick, I want to train these soldiers to my liking. You will create them, and I will train them. A perfect killing machine, a perfect fighting force...They will be beyond deadly, beyond dangerous..."_

_ "I understand sir. I am just hoping we have the success you are hoping for." The man named Sedgewick nodded quickly, both fearing and respecting the man who had united the fallen country. _

_ -0-_

"If you were Haruka, where would you be?" A shout of pain filled Kyo's ears instead of an answer as he sent the cat of nine-tails singing, the slap of the bladed ends connecting with bare flesh ringing throughout the stable.

"I don't know! How should I know!" The man shouted again, blood sliding from his wounds, staining his white trousers crimson. His forehead dripped with perspiration, his gray hair saturated with the salty liquid. He panted in pain, and grit his teeth as he turned his brown eyes to the man before him. Another crack of the bladed whip caused the man to scream again.

"If you were the woman you taught to be so fair and just, where would you go?" He jerked the whip several times, the blades slicing the older mans skin with each strike.

"She has no where to go...Why would she run? NO!" The whip sang through the air, only to stop. Yuichi cracked an eye open, seeing the elder Tenou with the whip in his hands still, yet impeccably calm, a grin on his face.

"She has no where to go..." Kyo cackled softly, the mans words ringing true. "She has to come home eventually. And I'll be waiting for her when she does. Because, of course, she has no one but me and our father in this world. She has no one."

"And it's sad to think she has no one...Especially when she trusts such a bastard like you so naively. I tried to warn her about you when she was young. Such blind faith! My words resounded upon deaf ears... Trusting a murderer, a thief, a cheat..." He gurgled the end word of his sentence as a knife was thrust through his throat, Kyo grinning wickedly.

"You think it's sad that she trusted me so blindly? Ha! I find it hysterical." The mans body hit the ground with a thud, a small dust cloud poofing up. Kyo gave another demented smile as he bent down to wipe his bloody blade on the man's shirt. "Have a nice day, Yuichi."

-0-

Michiru watched Haruka as the woman saddled Ventus, talking to the horse with a common ease that she seemed to lack with the young aqua-haired lady.

The blonde had returned from her run a few hours into the night to find Michiru waiting up for her, a cup of homemade jasmine tea and more fish jerky waiting for her. Haruka, being so much like her name, had kept her word of thanks to herself, and ate the frugal meal before turning in for the night. Now, it was a few hours past the dawn, and here they were; the blonde still keeping her vowel of silence, and Michiru's head spinning with questions.

Lately, the young womans dreams had been cryptic, all of them seeming to be connected in some way. At first, they had seemed to have a set order, though the more she had, the more jumbled they were. And each of them (save for one or two) featured a young blonde with eyes like Haruka's. Her deep storm-gray eyes that reflected hardships a thousand times over. Michiru sighed.

Haruka was no monster.

-0-

_"How many are left?"_

_"Just under two dozen, my lord. The chemicals we tried in the last bunch didn't agree with thirty-five of them."_

_"Have the bodies torched then, and press on. If we must, we'll find more test subjects."_

_"Yes, my lord. Though, out of the ones that are left, two of them seem particularly unfazed by the treatments and tests. They still behave and act like any normal child their age should..."_

_"Really now.. And what can they do?"_

_"They are both completely immune to the sun as well as the acid we find in the rain outside."_

_"Test them in the ocean as well."_

_"Of course, my lord. As you command."_

_"Oh, and Reito?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Who are the two that are doing so well? What house are they from?"_

_"The Tenou house, of course."_

_**A/N: Is this making any more sense? D **_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing. And what with the future rerelease of the manga, I best make it known to the world that I do not own these two lovely ladies. If I didn't, I could be facing so much more debt! *_*;; So, Miss Takeuchi, thank you for letting me borrow these two so that I may twist their character, completely maim their personality, and...anything else I choose. 3**

_40 years before..._

Shimizu Michio stood at the podium as the first bomb was launched by North Korea towards the United States. His face was grim as he took a breath. The rest of the Diet looked to him expectantly, his Cabinet sitting beside him. A man with hair the color of sun-kissed straw sat next to him, his grey eyes holding the same look of distress as Michio's. Tenou Hisoka took a sip of water_, _waiting; just like the rest of them.

"In light of recent world events...We must rethink our ability to cope with the results of this small and yet very dangerous decision on North Korea's part. With their attack, the United States is sure to retaliate, which of course is going to begin something all the more devastating than what has already come to pass. Yet, we must not lose hope, my friends. The Emperor and Prince Tate have graciously opened up the royal fallout shelter for the use of our families and ourselves. You have twelve hours to pack necessary items only and make it to the bunker." He nodded after he speech and stepped down from the podium to sit next to Hisoka. The rest of the Diet began to converse among themselves, each of them beginning to thin out as they went home to pack their items.

"Good job, Michio. You kept them from panicking. I'm impressed." Hisoka chuckled softly, gathering his papers.

"You know as well as I do that when America retaliates, we are dead. We need to get everyone who can bring this country back from the brink of destruction into that shelter."

"Yeah, yeah. I am so sure my boys will be thrilled about going into a fallout shelter for years." He laughed, shutting his briefcase. "Speaking of which, will you be bringing your daughter? Even if she isn't yours?" The look he received was one that could kill. Michio's eyes were narrowed, and his nostrils flared.

"Don't you ever bring that up again. That was mentioned in utter secret. So what if Shizira isn't mine? I've raised her as my own from day one."

"Did you ever make your wife give her the paternity test, Michio? Raising her as your own is one thing, I'd want to know who's child she was." Hisoka questioned gently, wondering. Even if he was curious, he was asking not only for himself, but so the man before him was allowed to vent without seeming as if he was weak.

"She's the Emperors..." Michio locked his briefcase as well, and left the room quickly, leaving a very stunned Hisoka behind.

-0-

Hisoka's oldest son stepped from the shelter when he turned 25, after being in the fallout shelter for nearly twenty years. He wasn't suppose to, of course, but he did it anyhow, two days after Shimizu Shizira had left the vault as well with a young man by the name of Kaiou Akio. They had been close for the twenty years they had all been in the vault, but Tenou Benkei had never seen her as anything other than a sister. He had noticed the way Shizira had spoken to Akio, the fire in her eyes when he came near. However, when Michio and Hisoka had announced that their eldest children would be married, Shizira had left the vault with Akio, feeling that living in the wasteland would be better than living without her love.

Benkei, having no one left in the vault that he felt close to, left as well. What he did not know, however, that the day after he left there was a revolution. Prince Tate, raised to be the leader of New Japan, murdered his father and murdered all those who stood in his way; Hisoka, Michio, Benkei's brother Reito, and Shizima's half-brother Hito all died within a matter of a few minutes. However, when it was discovered that Shizima had fled with Akio, and Benkei was also no where to be found, Tate was furious. He sent out search parties looking for the deflectors, his goal nearly in reach.

Benkei, within a year of leaving the vault, had found a woman his age, which he had fallen for. Her name was Kikyo, a strong young woman with black hair and deep gray eyes. She had a son to Benkei a year later, which she name Kyo, and four years later, she had a daughter who Benkei name Haruka, in honor of his father. Benkei was killed by Tate's guard when Haruka was two, and Kyo was six. Their mother, devestated by the loss, began to slip into a world brought forth by drugs.

When Haruka was six, her brother ten, a strange man came to the small hut they lived in, and spoke to their mother. The once proud woman sat there with deep circles under her eyes, her hair stringy.

"How much for your children, my lady?" The man had a voice like velvet, brought forth by years of politicking and doing just the same as he was now, speaking to parents around the country and buying their children.

"How much do you usually give for two scrawny brats?" She sniffed, itching her nose, and scratching at her arms. He smirked, knowing full well the price she would be willing to settle for. He snapped his fingers, bringing forth a briefcase filled with needles and powders.

"Will this be enough to satisfy your need? Two less mouths to feed would make your life so much easier, I am sure." He watched as her gray eyes took in the offered drugs, and she nodded.

"Deal, sir. One moment," she stood, and moved to the back door, yelling. "KYO! HARUKA!" She moved to sit back down, two grubby looking children making their way into the already cramped hut. The boy was tall for his age, with wide innocent eyes and a mop of black hair. His sister was scrawny and also tall, her long blonde hair tied back with a bit of string, her gray eyes filled with fear at the sight of the strange men. Both were wearing the equivalent of potato sacks which were stained from the weeks of wear.

"Hello, kids. I am a soldier in the King's army. Would you like to come play soldier with me?" His velvet voice was even more warm as he addressed the two children. Kyo nodded eagerly, while Haruka ducked behind him.

"Go with the nice man, kids. I'll see you soon," Kikyo murmured, signing a piece of grubby paper that gave her kids away. The case of drugs was passed to her, and she hugged it. The man, as he saw the name she signed, looked to her.

"Was your husband Tenou Benkei?"

"Yes. Is this a problem?"

"No. Not at all. This makes it better." He snapped his fingers once, another case coming forth, which she was given. Two armed man came forth as well and snatched Kyo and Haruka, hauling them to the small wagon that was waiting outside.

"MOMMY! NOO!" Haruka wailed, kicking and straining against the man who held her tight. Kyo grabbed her once they were placed in the wagon, and hugged her close.

"Hush, sis. Hush. We have to be good. We'll go home soon, I promise." He smoothed her hair, the wagon lurching forward quickly now, the hut fading from sight. Nearly a country away, a young girl with small aqua curls stood up and took two uncertain steps forward, Shimiza and Akio cheering as she did so. King Tate still searched for the Shimizu line, not knowing that it was his own blood that he was searching for.

A/N: Here we are! Chapter 7 is up, wooooo! Now, I hope this chapter wasn't too too boring. Everyone understanding that this is set in the future? After North Korea decides that bombing the U.S. is a grand idea? Anyhow! Hope you muddled through such an uneventful chapter. 3


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Still own noooooothing. **

Michiru glanced towards the blonde who sat at the opposite end of the fire, her face unreadable. The blonde twirled a stick, the flames licking at the piece of meat that was speared at the end greedily. Her gray eyes were seemingly unfocused, staring into the red light. The younger girl watched her, perplexed at what was turning in that head of hers. Sapphire eyes slid from her face and down to her body, the blonde having abandoned the long black leather jacket she normally wore. Michiru noted how her body was lithe, muscles rippling beneath the bronzed, scarred flesh of her bare arms. Without a thought to her action, or the fact that Haruka hadn't spoken a word in almost two days, Michiru stood up, stepped around the fire, and grabbed Haruka's hands. The blonde dropped her roasting meat and looked up at her with eyes full of bewilderment.

"Stand up."

"What are you going to do to me?" It was a truthful question. Michiru giggled as she pulled Haruka close, putting her arms around the blondes neck. Haruka swallowed roughly, completely confused.

"Put your arms around my waist..." Michiru's voice was calming, the tracker seeming to ease under her touch. Haruka did as she was told, and wrapped her arms around Michiru's waist, pulling her closer, their chests rubbing lightly. Michiru giggled again.

"What?"

"You've never danced before?" She began to sway with an invisible beat, dragging Haruka along with her. What resulted was a ragged-raw waltz, the blonde stumbling along with Michiru, the aqua-haired woman guiding the two of them in their childish dance.

"No...is that bad?"

"No. Just strange." Michiru moved closer, laying her head against the trackers chest. Haruka stiffened, the muscles in her arms becoming more defined as she made to pull away. Michiru held tight. "Hey...hey... It's a hug..."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Michiru smiled as she murmured the words, Haruka not pulling away any longer. She felt the blonde pull her closer, burying her face in the crook of her neck.

"This is nice... You smell good, Michiru." The tracker inhaled deeply, her breath tickling the young woman's neck, causing her to giggle. The blonde pulled away quickly.

"No, no...it tickled." She pointed to her neck. Haruka nodded, and allowed Michiru to lean against her again, the two of them returning to their clumsy waltz.

"Tell me about you..." The husky voice was just above a whisper, her breath fluttering over the fine hairs of Michiru's neck.

"If you'll tell me about you..." She felt the blonde stiffen again. She frowned, her hands sliding to brush Haruka's neck lightly. "Please..."

"It is...only fair."

"Deal. What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Her voice was breathless, her head feeling very light as Michiru's fingers slid against her scalp.

"My mother and father tell me they came from a shelter... My mother was the daughter of Shimizu Chiro and Himemiya Tate Sr. My father was the son of Kaiou and Kaiou Teome, both died in the shelter," she took a breath, continuing. "I am 16 years old, and I spent my entire life in that damn cave because of my father's paranoia. Um...I love the ocean...and the sun despite both try to kill me..." She giggled softly, causing Haruka to smile. "Hey, look at that, you are capable of human emotion."

"Shut up."

"Yes, ma'am." Michiru stuck her tongue out at her, and laughed. They both sat down, the moon rising overhead. "Your turn."

"That all you have to tell me?" Haruka looked to her, throwing yet another log onto the fire.

"Well...yeah..."

"My turn then, I guess?" She looked to Michiru, the younger girl nodding. The tracker sighed. "Fine. My mother sold me to my adoptive father for a suitcase of drugs, my father was murdered by a man I have already taken care of. I am 20 years old... My brother Kyo is 24, and he is my best friend..." she thought for a moment. "And..that's about it."

"What? No hobbies?"

"Does maiming count?" Haruka looked to her, finding a very distressed look on the young woman's face. "Kidding!" A wave of relief passed over Michiru's visage, and she laughed, laying her head in the blonde's lap.

"I'm glad we met."

"Why's that?"

"I feel safe with you..." Michiru stated simply, watching the fire as the embers floated against the black night sky. Haruka sighed, watching her.

"_That's what worries me."_

_ -0-_

"What are you doing, sister, playing with your food?" Kyo watched from atop a cliff overlooking the valley they were camping in. "Giving her the calm before the storm? Kill her, Haruka...Because I would hate to have to be the one to destroy her. Oh wait...no I wouldn't." He cackled to himself, guiding his horse from the cliff as the sun began to rise.

-0-

"Tate..."

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?" His advisor stood behind him, the black haired man standing before the map of his vast kingdom, a smirk on his face.

"Admiring it."

"Admiring what?"

"Death. I only have one more person that is standing between myself and the throne." His smirk widened, a crazy look in his eyes.

"My king...if I may be so blunt...you have the throne...You've had the throne for near twenty years," he took a step forward, almost instantly stepping back at the kings angry gaze.

"No. I am not truly king until the final Shimizu is killed, do you understand? I want nothing left of that corrupt government from the Elder Days. This is the Current Land, in the Time of Now. I will kill that brat if my children can not! She will not defeat me!" Spit spewed from his lips, his face turning beet red in his anger. His advisor rose his hands in front of him.

"My king... they will find her. You're children are the best," he tried his best at calming him, not understanding his obsession, but not wanting to become the king's next target.

"Yes, they are. However, the one is far too fair. She sees past my lies and into the person themselves. She's been asking questions. Why have I been sending her to kill innocent people? How to answer such a question. She does not understand the quest for power. Her brother does."

"My king, not to be rude, but why are you telling me this?"

"My children, you said, are the best. They are. But, I will only have one child soon enough. Kyo will kill his sister, for Kyo is just like me. He sees nothing but power. He thirsts for it... I am so proud."

_A/N: Another chapter! Bada-bing! Hope you all liked the interaction between them. It was so much fun writing! Enjoy. _

_-L_


	9. Chapter 9

Our Solemn Hour: Chapter 9

Setting: Current Land, Year 23 in the Time of Now (Japan, 2067)

The tracker was bent over the fire, tending to it as Michiru watched her from where her "captor" had spread her huge black coat on the ground for the young girl to sleep on, giving her her balled up black sleeveless shirt to use as a pillow. The aqua-haired woman blushed, realizing she had been admiring the sleek curves shown off by the tight, black Teflon vest the taller woman was wearing. Her eyes slid down Haruka's arms, dark tan from the murderous sun, and deep ridges stood out from the years of training she had endured. The blonde stood then, and Michiru quickly shut her eyes, listening to her move about the campsite almost silently. The smallest hint of a breeze drifted around the two of them, the world silent. The moon was above them, grotesque in appearance. A huge chunk was out of the side that faced them, a huge reminder of the war that turned the world that had been into the world that it was. Haruka sighed quietly, turning her eyes away from it. She moved, laying down behind Michiru, their backs touching. The tracker felt her "captive" cuddle closer, shivering in the cool night air. With a soft chuckled, an arm was snaked around Michiru's waist to pull her close, the blonde's body much warmer than a normal human's. The younger girl shivered several more times before calming, her body quickly warming as if under a thick blanket.

"You're not...human are you?"

"I am. I'm just...modified." Haruka's voice was quiet, apprehensive of telling such a piece of who she was.

"Modified how?" Came the next question, which caused the arm holding Michiru to tense.

"Injections, radiation...So I've been told. I just remember pain." Haruka's arm, as well as her body, lost its tenseness as she spoke those words, having not even told Kyo how much pain she had endured, though she was sure he knew. Both of them had almost nine years of their life burned into their memory as absolute pain and nothing more. She felt a set of soft fingers move to lace with her own, squeezing her rough hand tightly.

"I'll listen if you want to talk about it. I won't judge you, or interrupt. I'll just listen." Michiru's voice was sincere, her thumb stroking Haruka's hand.

"That's all. I don't remember anything else. Flashes mostly. An image when we were all eating. There were hundreds of us. Children sold into some sort of sick slavery. Shaved heads and potato sacks. Most of us were still healthy looking, a few looking pretty bad after the first series of tests. And a second flash. More or less half of us are gone. My brother and I, we always ate together. A kid with black hair sat down at our table and my brother...He stabbed him with the knife we were sharing. Right in his windpipe. I can remember the gargle as he dropped over dead, a few of my father's guards taking his body away. I kept eating." She paused for a few moments, seemingly amazed that she could remember as much as she could. "By the time I was a young woman, my brother and I were the only two left. Our father must have been pleased with how we turned out, for we left the hospital area of his stronghold and moved on to our training. I trained with the horsemaster Yuichi, where as Kyo trained with my father's generals. We were to be a team; one fair, the other ruthless. Yin and yang as it were. I was taught the ways of tracking, Kyo the way of torture. For years, we worked together, finding and killing those my father sent us to destroy. I began to question why we were sent after such innocent people, much to my father's distaste. He loved for us to be obedient without question. This mission...the mission to find you...he sent us separate, with the promise of his throne if we were first to return with you." There was silence for a few moments after Haruka had stopped talking, the only sounds being the crackle of the fire and the sounds of the nuclear desert around them.

"You...were sent after me." Michiru's voice was distrustful then, and she pulled away, Haruka's arms grabbed after her, but only grabbed the air.

"Michiru..."

"Don't! What, going to give me to your brother so he can kill me for you? Yin and yang, as you said. You track us and he kills us. Innocent people that your father sends you on the trail of, right?"

"Listen to me!"

"No, Haruka, you listen to me! I trusted you!" Tears slid down her cheeks then, her eyes beginning to turn puffy as she began to sniffle, not wanting to cry in front of the gorgeous, yet deadly woman.

"Michiru, I won't..."

"Won't what! Kill me? Throw me to the wolves! Give me to your brother so he can use my bones to pick his tee-" she was caught in mid-sentence as Haruka's lips crashed with her own, kissing her roughly, awkwardly, and not at all as Michiru had imagined her first kiss would be.

-0-

"Kyo?" A voice echoed from the watch on his left wrist, which the oldest Tenou quickly looked to, his father's face looking back at him.

"Yes, father?"

"I don't want the Kaiou dead any longer. A change of heart, if you will."

"Then should we come home?" Kyo sounded disappointed at the news, his question almost embedded in his brain from missions past.

"Far from it boy. In fact, I need the girl here. Alive."

"Alive?"

"Yes. Find your sister. Have her bring me the girl. Or kill her and bring the girl to me yourself, which ever."

"As you wish, sir."

-0-

Michiru pushed the blonde away, catching the woman off guard and sending her sprawling into the fire, their camp plunged into darkness. Michiru could hear her captor begin to stand up, and that's when she ran. She was blind, for the light of the moon was limited, as the moon was a single sliver in the starless sky. She could hear her breath in her ears, her feet pounding the sandy earth. She paused as she ran into a briar bush, the sharp thorns tearing into her flesh, causing her to bleed. She ducked down into the brush as she heard footsteps approaching. She held her breath, waiting for the blonde to pass by. The footsteps stopped right beside her, the soft breathing letting her know that the blonde was right beside her. Her lungs began to burn as her body burned through the oxygen that had remained in her lungs. She let out her breath.

"Michiru... come on. Let's go back to camp and get your arms cleaned up."

"No, you murderer!" She stood up, trying to find her way through the thorns. A hand reached out and grasped her arm lightly, holding her still.

"Next town...I'll help you hide. Then I will find my brother and end this once and for all. I promise. Then... I'll deal with my father."

"Why... Why would you give up your family for me.."

"Because you're innocent. You have no reason to die. And because you're the first person I've wanted to protect. Ever."

"But why?"

"When I was a child, my mother would tell me stories of true love...people who cared for each other that were not family. Princes who would rush to the aid of the princesses who were in trouble. Knights in shining armor. I always wanted to be a knight." She paused in her story, Michiru eyeing her up and down.

"You are the black knight the hero has to fight, you mean!"

"Hush. I'm not done. As I was saying. I wanted to be a knight. One to rescue the damsels of the world. To save people. But, yes, instead I was lead to the life of the black knight. The nemesis in our tale. I want to change that." She released her arm, watching her in the darkness. Michiru crossed her arms over her chest.

"How can I trust you? Honestly?"

"Trust your gut."

-0-

He growled, kicking the smoldering ashes of the forgotten fire, his sisters long black coat and shirt left on the ground. He raised a brow at the makeshift bed, knowing full well that Haruka wouldn't sleep on a hunt, especially when she held her quarry so close.

"What are you doing, sister. Playing with your food?"

-0-

The blonde helped Michiru from the back of Ventus, holding her for a moment longer than necessary. She set her down, several people milling past them, the market busy. Haruka had fashioned a hooded cloak out of the sleeping cloth she kept in her saddle bag for Michiru, having her keep her hood up. She stepped up to the stall to her left, bowing to the woman behind the counter. The woman was older, her graying hair pulled back into a tight bun, her wrinkles causing her eyes to seem sunken. She wore a black dress with red flowers on it, her table covered with amulets.

"Amaya. It's been too long."

"That is has, my dear Haruka. 2 years has been far too long. Still serving the king?" The woman's question seeped with dislike, her voice seeming trusting, yet the way she allowed her eyes to scan the blonde and the surrounding area, Michiru could tell she did not trust Haruka one bit. Not that the young woman could blame her.

"Still not trusting me?"

"Where's that vile brother of yours? Usually there's you...then he shows up. He sets my nerve on edge. But you know that."

"He's abroad. Searching for the Shimizu heir." Her eyes glinted for a moment.

"Ah yes, I had heard such a rumor about such. The last heir of the Shimizu line being hunted. It's sad, the Shimizu's had no true power in the Diet back in the Days of Old, but our King seems to think that by killing off their line he will have unlimited power."

"It is a joke, I know. Our king seems to have lost his mind recently. However, I have a favor to ask, Amaya." The blonde beckoned for Michiru to step forward.

"What is it, girl? Another amulet for a long crusade?"

"No... I need you to shelter someone for me. Keep her from my brothers sight." She slipped Michirus hood back, the old woman's eyes growing wide.

"Is that..."

"The last human with Shimizu blood in all of the Current Land."

_A/N: I am so sorry it has been so long! What with work and the annoying lack of internet, I've found it incredibly difficult to find the time/inspiration/drive to update. I'd say two more chapters and this story is finished! Woo! Enjoy._


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